The Arrangement
by HavocHound
Summary: Three years after the Night Howler incident, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have become famous partners and one of the best cops in the city. In Nick's mind, it's all thanks to Judy who changed his life around with a new home, new job, and a new slate. However, when a strange letter arrives it will change everything between the two of them. Including, how they feel for each other...
1. The Letter

_**AN: Funny, as soon as I finish one idea, another pops into my head. This one is going to be longer, with chapters, and it will be updated every so often.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia.**_

* * *

For what had to be the seventh hundred time, Nick wished he could take his dart gun, shoot the sun, and cause it to go back to night for a few more hours. Despite having been a police officer for better then three years now, Nick still hated to get up early in the morning for work. When he was a scammer, he had his own schedule and woke up whenever he felt like it. While he wouldn't trade his new life for anything in the world, it didn't mean he had to like all of it. But maybe just this one day he could-

"Rise and shine, partner!" shouted a hyper excited voice upon the door to his room being slammed open. "Time for another day of protecting and serving!"

Nick groaned, covering his head with a pillow. Of course _she_ would be up and dressed on a morning like today. "Go away, Carrots. I wanna sleep."

He winced as his covers were torn away by Officer Judy Hopps, who was already dressed in blue and ready for the day. "No can do, Nick. We got an hour to get to work and I wanna be on time for a good case."

"It's a twenty-minute drive… we can spare a few minutes…" growled Nick, slowly getting up and smacking his lips.

"Unless, you're sick, injured or dead, Nick, I need you to get your fuzzy butt in the shower and dressed. I'll make breakfast if you do," said Judy with a knowing smirk on her face.

Sure enough, this was enough to get Nick up and awake. If there was one thing he loved most about living with Judy in their condo it was the fact that she was an excellent cook. Stretching his legs while in his boxes, Judy turned around just in time to avoid him, he said, "Well, first off, Carrots, you have as much fur on your butt as I do. Second, I'll be expecting some cricket bacon with that. Also, technically I am dead just in somebody else's name."

"When did you do that?" asked Judy with an amused smirk. She was used to him revealing all the criminal things he used to do before joining the force.

"Owed a guy a few grand so I faked my death. It was a nice funeral," said Nick as he made his way to the bathroom. "Really hard to keep still in that casket though. Had to pee like crazy when I got out."

"TMI, Nick!" shouted Judy from the other end of the all as he chuckled while going through the door.

Turning on the hot water, Nick stripped himself of his only clothing and got inside, sighing in comfort as the hot water began to do its magic. Being in the shower was one of the few time Nick allowed himself to seriously think on his life and to be perfectly honest it was the best it ever had been. His time as a kit held very little happy memories with growing up without a father, being poor, being teased for being a fox, that… muzzle incident. Nick shivered on that one, even now it was still a terrible memory, but not as bad as coming home to find your mother dead on the floor.

"Mom…" whispered Nick as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as the water pelted his face. He almost never used to think or talk about her. She was the only bright thing in his life and when he was sixteen he lost her to syphilis. It was also that day he learned how his mother kept food on their table. Most made fun of his mother for being a "whore" but he never saw it like that. His mother sacrificed everything for her son and it made him proud to love her.

He just didn't really want to think about her all those years ago because it was too painful. The first time in years he thought about her was in the skycar with Judy, mentioning how she saved up what little money they had to buy him a scout suit. He thought about her more and more, especially when training in the Academy. Fox faith believed that all fox souls returned to nature to watch over their young, and during the tough training he had not just Judy cheering him on but he felt like his mother was too and he wanted to make her proud wherever she was. He wasn't proud of his life as a criminal if he was to be _really_ honest, but he didn't see any choice for him at the time. Now he had done a complete one eighty on his life and he couldn't be happier. He was sure his mother couldn't be happier either.

The only one who knew the whole story of his life was Judy, and that was on the day he got his first honest paycheck. Judy wanted to help him buy whatever it was that he wanted to get. The first thing he wanted was an actual gravestone for his mother where she was buried.

He watched as it was set up with her name and everything. He hadn't been to where she was buried since he was a sixteen. Upon seeing it all, he just collapsed and let lose so many years of pain and sorrow. He just talked to the cold rock about everything since that day he found her. Judy was there, she said nothing, made no movements until he was done. And when he was she just hugged him. It was then that Nick knew he finally found a true friend after all these years.

Since then, Judy had been the most important person in his life. He had her back just as she had his. They solved case after case with some near misses. And they were always there for each other. Any problem they had they turned to the other for comfort like when Nick went to therapy to deal with his fear of muzzles. Or when Judy was insulted and harassed by other bunnies for being a traitor to their kind for befriending a fox. Often they were the butt of many "marriage" jokes from others, but they shrugged it off. They had something special and that was all that was needed.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. "Nick? I have your clothes. I'm going to place them on the sink for you."

"Thanks, Carrots. Do you want to also wash my back? I got this one area I cannot get?" he teased.

"And risk getting blind upon seeing your naked body? No thanks," teased back Judy before the door closed.

After getting properly cleaned, Nick dried himself off and dressed up in his police uniform before heading out. Instantly, his nose was hit with the smell of eggs and cricket bacon which made him nearly water in his mouth. He zipped over to the dining room where a table for two was already set up with not just eggs and bacon, but toast, warm carrots, and fresh blueberries too.

"Carrots, have I ever told you how much you are an angel?" asked Nick as he sat down to help himself.

"Just as often as I tell you that you're a saint," said Judy as she sat down with Nick and began to help herself to some eggs.

The two talked as they ate ranging from topics such as police gossip, open cases, and what they had plan to do together for the upcoming weekend. When the mail slot opened, Judy and Nick both looked at each other and started shaking their fists. "Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!"

Nick got rock. Judy got scissors.

"Ugh, darn it. Why can't I ever win," growled Judy as she got up and went to get the mail.

"Because I'm a lucky fox!" said Nick with a chuckle.

"I thought rabbits were supposed to be the lucky ones! With the lucky foot thing and all!" said Judy as she grabbed the mail.

"The only thing your feet are good for, Carrots, is kicking the crap out of bad guys," said Nick, recalling all the times Judy had taken down criminals with her big feet. Nick preferred to just shoot them with the tranquilizer gun but for some reason Judy liked taking them down with her bare paws. _She watches too many Chuck Nuttis movies._

"Bill. Bill. Trash. Bill. Letter from my brother on vacation. And a letter from Mom and Dad!" shouted Judy.

"Is it more blueberries?" asked Nick as he piled more on his plate.

"No, just a letter."

"Not interested," said Nick as he turned away.

Judy rolled her eyes before she opened the envelope only a letter didn't come out as expected. It was a carrot wrapped with lilies. Nick raised an eyebrow at the sight and was about to make a joke when he saw Judy fall to her seat, her face in shock and pale as snow. Nick didn't show it much, but he was a very observant animal. He could see the worry, shock, and terror in Judy's eyes as she stared at that flower like it was a grenade ready to go off.

"Carrots? Everything alright?" asked Nick.

Judy snapped out of it and turned towards Nick before facing the strange flowery carrot. "I… I have to go." She got up and made for the door. "Tell the Chief I'm taking the day off. I'm using my vacation days."

Nick snapped his head back in shock. "Wait, what?! Judy you never take a day off!" It was true. She didn't even use her vacation days that often. Most of the time, Chief Bogo had to order her to take one or threaten to give her parking meter duty for a full year if she didn't. Judy was in love with her job and to hear that she was going to be taking the day off from her own mouth? Nick quickly looked outside to see if any falling rocks from the sky were coming down to rain apocalyptic death to them all.

"I know, but this is important! I promise I'll tell you later, I just need to go, Nick! Bye!" And like that the door was shut and Nick was all alone.

"Well, that was interesting…"

* * *

Nick couldn't remember a time when he arrived for work without Judy. His rabbit partner had done so without him whenever he took the day off, but for all their work days together he never worked without her. It felt so weird to him since they practically saw and did everything together. He hadn't felt like this since before he first met her on that Night Howler incident years back. Punching himself in, he carried a box of donuts for Clawhauser who was already on his third box.

Greeting Nick with his usual cheerful smile, Clawhauser shouted, "Hey, Nick! See that hockey game last night?"

"Yup, Muttain Brodeur really showed his skills last night. Eight to zero with none getting passed him," said Nick with a smirk as he pumped fists with Clawhauser.

"I know, right?! He's like a fricken wall!" He then looked around and tilted his head. "Where's Judy?"

"She took the day off," said Nick with a shrug.

"Did the Chief have to threaten her with parking duty again?"

"No, she did this on her own free will. All of because of some stupid thing she got in the mail from her parents," said Nick as he placed the donuts on the cheetah's desk.

"What was it?" asked Clawhauser as he begun to dig into the fresh hot goodies.

"A carrot with lilies tied to it. Know what that means and if ya don't can you find out?" asked Nick.

"Nope, sorry. But I can find out for ya!" said Clawhauser with a salute. "This mission I accept."

"Great, now I'm gonna head to the bullpen to see what the Chief has for me," said Nick as he lazily saluted to his friend.

Nobody noticed when Nick came in and took his seat before checking out the latest stuff on his social media pages via phone. Not that he minded. While he was mostly friendly with the other officers it was really just Judy and Clawhauser that he was close to. Sometime he would join the others at a guy's night at the bar or something, but Nick was fine with just a few friends. _Only that one good friend is doing who knows what at the moment,_ though Nick.

Soon, Chief Bogo arrived and ordered everyone to settle down before taking the podium. "Alright, everyone. You know the drill. Fangster and Winters, you two got that drug deal going down in Tundratown. Ponds and Jordon, you are to bring Mr. E'mole for question regarding his partner's embezzlement scheme. Hopps and Wilde, you two are-"

"Actually, sir," interrupted Nick. "It's just Wilde today. Carrots is taking the day off."

To his amusement, every head in the room turned towards Nick with a look of disbelief. A pin could drop and you could have sworn it was an atomic bomb. Even Bogo's mouth was silently open. "I'm sorry, Wilde, but did you say Officer Hopps took a day off?"

"Eeyup."

"… Officer Fernin, is the sky raining rocks of death outside?" asked Chief Bogo.

"Nope, clear as day sir."

"Well, okay since the world is not ending at the moment. Wilde, you got desk duty. You are behind on your paperwork after all," pointed Chief Bogo.

"Consider it done faster than an elephant smelling peanuts," said Nick with a grin.

"Hey!" said an elephant officer right behind Nick.

"Figure of speech."

* * *

Doing paperwork wasn't that hard when you knew how to make it interesting. All the details you had to write just needed to be a bit more dramatic and exciting to make it seem more like telling a story then reporting something. He heard his reports made very interesting topics in the coffee lounge. It was much different from Judy who was always by the book and detailed to the truth.

Judy. Even when she wasn't around, Nick still couldn't get her out of his head. He had tried texting and calling her a few times to see how she was, but she never answered him. He couldn't actually help but be concerned that she was in some kind of trouble. After all, she looked really nervous for whatever reason. Was the carrot thing a threat of some kind? Did it mean somebody in her family died? It had been a few hours since he asked Clawhauser to look it up (the guy was faster at finding stuff online then even a few information brokers Nick knew).

"If it was important she would tell me, right?" asked Nick to himself as he put another old case file in the completed box.

" _ **OH MY GOODNESS!"**_

Nick was sure he and everyone in the precinct jumped at the sound of Clawhauser's shout. This was soon followed by him using the intercom. _"Um, Nick? You might wanna come over here."_

Raised eyebrow, I walked over from my desk with a few curious eyes on me. When I got to Clawhauser he was red as a beet and looked torn between screaming with joy and dancing. "What's up?"

"Well, you know that carrots with lilies on it that Judy got?!" said the cheetah rapidly. "I looked it up on a few sites and I learned what it is!"

"Is her mother pregnant again?" Nick asked, remembering how excited his partner was about having sixteen more little siblings.

"Nope! It's to let her know that some bunny _accepted her arranged marriage_ _!"_

All of a sudden the world stopped for Nick as he stared at Clawhauser with wide eyes.

"... What?"


	2. The Contract

_**AN: I'm glad that people were interested in this story from the first chapter. Hopefully the second chapter will keep you guys around. This one is a bit shorter, but it's going to be focusing on details of the arrange marriage. I would also like to know how I am doing with Judy and Nick's personalities. This is a romance, but I don't want them to be discovering their feelings so early. At the moment, they are very very very close and need each other. They just don't see it as "love" yet.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia.**_

* * *

Married.

His partner and best friend was getting married. Nick had pretty much gone into a coma shock for ten minutes before Clawhauser finally snapped him out of it with some water to the face. Unfortunately for him, he left all his spare uniforms at home so he had to continue work with a wet shirt. Not that it bothered Nick because everything seemed to go by in a blur as the same thought continued to play in his mind like an endless recording.

Judy was getting married.

He didn't even _think_ arranged marriages were still done in this day and age. It was so medieval that he was wondering if they cured ailments in Bunnyburrow with leeches and herbs to cast the devil away. He knew her folks were old fashioned, but the fox didn't think they were this old.

Nick had a million questions, but the one on his mind the most was why did Judy never tell him about this? One of the things that had been key to their friendship was their ability to trust each other with everything. Nick had told ever single dark story he had in his past from his mother's death to the time the orphanage owner beat him for something a bunch of prey orphans lied about. Judy told him everything too from Gideon Gray's bully habits in her childhood to the time she played a prank in her school by putting firecrackers in the girl's toilets.

For Judy to not tell him about this at all? He couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by it. That was why he went straight home, calling Judy all the while but getting nothing but a voice mail. He waited in their condo, not even bothering to order any food or watch TV. All he could do was stare at the door and wait for his bunny friend to arrive.

It was around seven when she finally came home, looking exhausted and frustrated. Nick, to his credit, kept his face emotionless as he sat down on the couch, legs and arms crossed. Judy noticed him and did her best to fake a smile, but Nick didn't need to be a cop or an ex-con to see it was forced. "Oh, Nick! Didn't see you there. So, uh, how was work?"

"Oh, so and so. Nothing really interesting," said Nick, shrugging his shoulders.

"That's good. Uh, sorry about this morning I was um… well I had to visit my folks… I was there all day actually…," admitted Judy.

"Oh?" asked Nick, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward. "I don't suppose you were making _wedding_ plans?"

Judy's eyes widen for a second before she looked down in defeat. "So you know, huh?"

"That you're getting married? Oh yeah. Thanks for letting me know about that for the last three years," muttered Nick.

"Nick," started Judy, as she rubbed her forehead. "Look, I completely forgot about this okay. It's complicated."

"How does one forget they're getting married? I mean, don't most ladies keep that in their heads twenty-four seven?" asked Nick, standing up and looking down at a blushing Judy. "So when were you going to tell me? When you said "I do" or when your first litter came out."

Puffing her cheeks, Judy stood on her toes and leaned forward. "Hey, I was just as surprised as you! I never expected this to happen! Besides, I'm not married yet! I'm just engaged!"

"Oh, like that's a big difference," replied Nick, rolling his eyes. "And you really expect me to believe that you didn't know anything about this?"

"Look, Nick, I've known the marriage contract was always there but I never figured anybody would take it! Especially since I'm not exactly traditional bunny material!" shouted Judy, waving her arms around. "The last time I ever put any real thought into it was when I was ten! It only hit me when the letter came in! You're acting ridiculous about this!"

"That's because this whole thing is ridiculous!" shouted Nick as he walked away to the other side of the room, still glaring. "I can't believe that your family even does something as stupid as arranged marriages! We're in the fricken 22nd Century! I can't believe you even agreed to this!"

"Nick, I don't want this as much as you do, but I don't have a choice!" shouted Judy.

"That's a load! You've always said that we have a choice to choose whatever we want regardless of who we are!" shouted Nick.

"Nick Wilde, I get your angry but do you really think I'm not angry too!" screamed Judy at the top of her lungs. She took a few deep breaths before closing her eyes and looking downward. "Do you really think I want to lose my job over this? My home in Zootopia? All my friends? And…" she slowly looked up with her eyes full of sorrow and regret. "Do you really think I want to leave you?"

Staring into those heartbroken eyes, Nick felt all his anger leave him as he saw only the truth in them. Mentally berating himself, he closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course Judy wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want to leave everything she's worked hard for all her life.

She wouldn't want to leave him. Never. _I really am a dumb fox._

"No, I don't think you do," whispered Nick as he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, this whole thing just freaked me out."

"Trust me, I know how that feels," whispered Judy as she slowly made her way to the couch and collapsed on it. "I've been feeling so sick in my stomach I want to throw up."

Nick walked over and sat next to her, calmly placing his arm around her shoulders and letting her lay down on his chest. She let out a comforting sigh as she rested upon it and slowly began to relax. "Why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?"

"Well, I guess I better explain the process," said Judy, taking some time to think before continuing. "The most important thing for a bunny is family. It comes first no matter what. Since the old days, we've focused on family alliances by having marriage contracts. I don't know how old it is, but it's been around for a while. The oldest and youngest girl of each litter get a contract made and it's made known to all bunny families in the area for a potential union between the families. This was made to make alliances, farms, armies, and even settle rivalries in firm union. The contract stays open until the head of the family who made it ends it personally, or if that bunny whose name is on the contract passes away or marries before it can be accepted."

"Can anybody accept it?" asked Nick.

"Only males can accept it. They have to be the head of a family or an heir to a family. The head usually gives it to a son of his," answered Judy. "Once they accept it, the marriage is planned, and in a few months they are wed."

"Well, can't you just divorce or something?" asked Nick, trying to find options on how to get Judy out of this.

"We're one of those races who believes in mates for life. I cannot divorce him nor marry anybody else, even if he dies," whispered Judy with a heavy sigh. "The only way a contract union can be rejected is if the one who owns the contract is of higher status then the one who wants it. This bunny is of old noble blood and his father is a senator in the nation's government so there is no way in hell we can refuse."

"What's his name?" asked Nick, planning to look up information about him.

"Lord Jonathan Fluffypants, heir to the Fluffypants Family," answered Judy which made Nick snort and start laughing. Judy couldn't help but giggle too.

"Seriously?" asked Nick, shaking his head in amusement. "Judy Fluffypants? I'd almost pay to see that on your marriage license."

"It's an old bunny family, and we had weird names back then," chuckled Judy before she sighed. "Oh course, since they're so old traditional the only thing they'll want me to do is make babies like no tomorrow."

"Why the hell would your father even allow this to happen?" asked Nick. He knew Stu Hopps wasn't the biggest fan of Judy's life choice, but he loved his daughter too much to stop her.

"Dad wasn't the one who set it up," growled Judy. "It was my grandfather who set it up when I was born. I never knew him because he died when I was three, but from what I know he wasn't exactly the nicest bunny around. He even objected to my parents marrying each other unless they promised to give one of their firstborn's a contract."

"And since he's six feet under he cannot cancel the contract. Your father has no say?" asked Nick.

"My Uncle Herbert, is head of the family and is like my Grandfather, so no he won't. Trust me, I already argued with him over it all day," growled Judy, lowering her head. "I have only a few months to find a way to break this contract or else it's wedding bells for me."

"Can't you just say no?" asked Nick.

"If I could, I would," whispered Judy. "But if I do so, my family will be shamed. Every other bunny family will ignore them, refuse to do anything with them, even those who are distant relatives will be punished. I cannot make my family go through that."

Nick cursed every god in existence. This was starting to turn out more serious then he thought.

"But I'm not giving up," said Judy with a determined look in her face. The kind that could light fires with the passion it gave. "I still have a few months. I can find a way to break this contract before I have to marry this bozo."

Nick smiled and put his paw on her shoulders. "And I'll help you, Carrots. After all, you are talking to an ex-con. And if there is anything we are good at, it's finding loopholes and ways to skirt around rules."

Judy smiled at her best friend and hugged him which took him by surprised. "Thanks, Nick. I'm glad I have you as a best friend."

Nick just smiled and hugged her back. He always joked about how rabbits were so emotional and always giving hugs. The truth was he kinda liked it.

Especially if they were from Judy.


	3. The News

_**AN: Not much to say. Got work to go to soon so please enjoy this chapter. Also, if anybody is Australian please tell me I did the accent and lingo right?**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.**_

* * *

The next morning, Judy requested that Nick keep the whole marriage affair a secret. The last thing she needed was this to get out to anybody. Nick agreed to it and with good reason. Ever since the Night Howler case, Judy had become a celebrity in a way. Her track record in solved cases only furthered her fame, and soon she was becoming the face of the ZPD. She also made sure to give Nick his due as well and he soon became just as famous as her, but even more so in certain former circles he once treaded on. Some still called him friend, others traitor, but they did respect the fact that he had been given a chance to make a decent fox out of himself. One who didn't mind turning away from some acts for old times' sake, provided they didn't do anything TOO illegal.

However, their wishes were soon dashed when the entire police force all shouted "Congratulations!" as a giant banner with her face and the words "Happy Marriage" along with balloons, confetti, and cake was seen as their coworkers wore party hats. Apparently, Clawhauser told the entire station. Judy and Nick made sure to not give him donuts for five months for that.

Although she wanted nothing more than to go on duty, everyone was determined to have the small party they set up. Even Chief Bogo didn't mind. After some gifts, well wishes, and too much cake, they were ordered back to work and Nick and Judy soon found themselves patrolling the streets of Sahara Square.

"Ugh, I think my stomach is going to bust," whined Nick as he rubbed his lower abdomen. "Is there a code for officer down via stomachache?"

"Well, maybe if you didn't have three slices of that giant cake Officer McHorn made you wouldn't be in pain," muttered Judy, ears folded in anger as she focused on the road. "You just had to get Clawhauser involved and let him spread the word, didn't you?" Judy stopped at a red light and banged her head against the steering wheel. "If the police know then that means the news is going to know, and I'm suddenly going to be the special on the news."

"Carrots, relax," said Nick, putting his paw on her shoulder. "Just ask the Chief for a week or two off. You got God knows how many vacation days and you can use that time to find a way to get out of this marriage. 'Cause working while you're this stressed is only going to make it harder for you to do your job."

Judy sighed, but slowly lifted her head up and continued to drive when the light turned green. "Yeah, your right. I really need to figure out on how to get this marriage avoided at all costs. I plan on speaking to a lawyer after work anyway."

"You have a lawyer?" asked Nick, raising his eyebrow.

"No, but Mayor Lionheart does, and he's agreed to let me have his councilor as a favor," said Judy, grudgingly.

"But you hate Mayor Lionheart," pointed Nick. The guy was really good a being a politician. Enough to convince the public he was a hero for kidnapping all those savage predators who were victims of the Night Howlers and keep them safe from others. While Nick could see the logic in some of it, Judy argued that he still had no right to keep them lock up in secret. Still, the lion had his office back in a few months and was still popular. Since then, it was an interesting relationship they had with the Mayor. He had nothing against the two for doing their jobs and even gave favors if they asked, but usually that was Nick since Judy tried to do as little as possible with Lionheart.

"I do, but I'm desperate, Nick," whispered Judy as she turned to him with worry in her eyes. "I don't want to marry this bunny and become some breeding machine. I just don't."

Nick bit his lip and said nothing. Truth was he was also planning to deal with this issue, but in his own way. He would just have to wait until their shift was over and Judy was none the wiser.

* * *

Downtown Savanna wasn't the greatest of places in Zootopia. It was where most of the lowborn and poverty folk lived. For Nick, this was home, well old home at least. Since he was off duty now that his shift ended, he quickly dressed back into his normal clothes and took the train back to familiar grounds. Ever street he passed he could give the history of it and who owned it in a snap. It was often a place he tried to avoid for patrol duty, not out of fear but out of loyalty.

Nick was a cop, and if given the choice he would arrest an old friend for a crime if he had too. But there was a difference between "criminals" and "those making a living". Not everyone could get a second chance like him or even a chance at all. They didn't do it for money or power all the time. They did it to survive. Of course, there were exceptions and Nick had no problem getting rid of those bastards. But there were some friends who, even if they were on the wrong side of the law, he wouldn't let go.

Mostly because they offered help in more ways than one. Nick had to call in favors in the past for information, evidence, or anything else needed. More often it was because of old partnerships, but other times it was because they didn't like seeing some scumbags either. There was a code, however loose, among the underground and if you broke it you were on your own.

It was one thing to hustle a guy's wallet. It was another thing to hustle a man's livelihood.

Nick got off the train and went down Avenue Q where a few faces who recognized him looked back but then looked away. It was for the best. He wanted to get what he came for and get home before Judy realized what was going on.

It didn't take him long to arrive at what looked to be an abandoned record store for classical rock music. Nick, placing his hand in the dusty mailbox outside, pulled out a key before he used it to open the door. Behind the closed door was a number of computers, all lined up and linked together with old pizza boxes, soda cans, beers, crushed bags of chips, and action figures of video game figures. Nick winced at the smell. "Hey, Codala are you dead and rotting in here or is that just the smell of your room."

The sound of tiny footsteps turned his attention to the bathroom where a flushing noise was heard followed by a koala bear coming out in jeans, a t-shirt with mustard stains on it, and bangs over his head. "Damnit Nick, let a cobber use the dunny before yoos start scarin' him."

"Codala, you look the same lazy piece of outback crap that I left you as," said Nick with a smirk.

The koala bear got onto a nearby chair and pushed himself to a keyboard to use while focusing on three screens in front of him. "'N' you're still a bloody sarky fox who is goin' ta get his crack kicked in someday. What do yoos want, officer?"

"I need your help," answered Nick.

"Everyone 'n' their old-girl wants my help."

"Look, I need information on someone," said Nick, takin the chair and turning it around. He narrowed his eyes. "I know everybody in Zootopia, at least by rumor and reputation, but this guy is outside of the city. So I know jack squat. You, however, can get anybody's data from any phone, computer, database, and even deleted emails. I need you to find out what you can about this guy."

"Alright, just ease off will ya," said Codala, raising his paws. "I just want something done for me in return."

"And that is?" asked Nick, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow.

"I got a lot of parking tickets that I don't want to pay for. You get rid of those 'n' I'll find your information," said Codala. "Of course, that might take some time."

Nick simply pulled out his cell phone, looked through his contacts, pressed on it and waited for it to pick up.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey, Jumbo, it's Nick. I heard you got parking duty this week?" said Nick with a smirk.

" _Yeah. Trust me, I'd rather be swimming in shark infested waters while my eyes get eaten by mice then do this,"_ muttered Jumbo on the other line.

"Well, I'm feeling generous this week and since my partner plans to take a small vacation to deal with the wedding plans, I was wondering if I could take your job this week," said Nick.

" _Wait, really?! Wow, I would-wait, what's the catch?"_

"I need you to remove a friend of mine's parking tickets and make them voided. Under the name of Codala Leafbeater," said Nick with a thumbs up and a wink to the koala who rolled his eyes and went back to typing on his computer.

" _That's it? No problem… done. Your friend's got a clean slate again. You better keep your end of the deal, fox."_

"I always do, Jumbo," said Nick before he ended the call. "Impressed?"

"Showoff. Who is your guy," said Codala, as got ready to type.

"Lord Fluffypants, but he should be the heir to the family. Not the head," said Nick which earned him a raised eyebrow. "I know. Stupid name, but that's bunnies for ya."

"Bloody rabbits. Wankers all of them," muttered Codala who continued to type. "I'll get all I can 'n' send it to your email. Now get out so I can code 'n' eat pizza in peace."

"Will do, and lose some weight while you're at it," said Nick as he exited the place.

"Root you!"

* * *

By the time Nick made himself back to his and Judy's Condo, his partner was already there looking through a set of papers on the dining table. Upon hearing him come in, Judy turned around and gave a small wave before focusing back on her work. "Hey, where did you go?"

"Went to see Finnick," lied Nick which was a second nature to him. "Had a few beers, talked about things. Don't worry, I didn't mention your problem."

Judy sighed and raised the remote control that was right beside her that Nick didn't notice until now. She pressed the on button and the news soon came up showing Peter Moosebridge with a picture of Judy and a heart behind her. _"-you have heard it right here folks. Famous ZPD Officer Judy Hopps is getting married shortly. Who the lucky bunny that has won the heart of one of Zootopia's heroes is still unknown, but we at ZNN do wish Judy the best of luck in her engagement. Currently, the most popular choice of who Officer Hopps is marrying is-"_

Judy shut off the TV before the moose could go any further. "It's been the talk on nearly every channel for the past three hours," muttered Judy, banging her head on the table.

"Well, you know what they say about the news these days," said Nick as he came over and put a paw on her own while sitting down. "Relax, in a few days this will blow off and everybody will be talking about something even more scandalized like Charlie Sheep going insane again or something."

Judy snorted. "Remember when we had to arrest him in his underwear as he shouted about having 'tiger's blood' inside of him?"

"Ah, good times," said Nick, who poked Judy's cheek. "See, Carrots? That's the kind of look I wanna see. That cute smile of yours."

"Don't call me cute," said Judy, but she smiled none the less. She then turned to the papers in front of her. "I still have to go through all this. The Mayor's Lawyer assured me she'll do everything she can to help me, but so far the only thing that will help me with this amount of paperwork is tylional pill."

Nick shook his head before he used his paw to put the papers down from Judy's grip. "I think what somebody needs more is a moment to relax. Seriously, Carrots, you were even tense during that party the boys in blue gave ya. You need to rest."

"Nick, I need to focus on this!" urged Judy.

"And you have months before your draped in white and wearing the chains known as holy matrimony," countered Nick. "One night is not going to hurt. Sit by the couch with me and relax."

Judy opened her mouth to argue, but only a sigh came out as her ears dropped. "Yeah, your right. I think I can use a rest."

Getting up from their seats, Nick sat down while Judy lay on her back, her head resting on Nick's lap as he went to stroke her ears. She hummed in pleasure as she closed her eyes and let her shoulders sagged. "I really love it when you do that."

"Well, you know you love me," said Nick.

"Dumb fox."

"Sly bunny."

For a whole hour, they sat in the same positions. For that one hour, there was no worry of marriage, news, or anything. Just the two of them enjoying each others company. "You know," said Nick, stopping his stroking. "We could always fake your death. I mean, the contract can't work then."

"Nick, don't be stupid," said Judy, rolling her eyes. "That's illegal."

"Marrying against your will should be illegal," whispered Nick. "But I've done it before. Twice as a matter of fact. All we need is to stage the whole thing, get this medicine I used once that puts you in a death like state for a few days, have a big funeral, and then dig you out before you run out of air."

"And what? You say something embarrassing for my eulogy?" asked Judy, shaking her head. "Ignoring the fact that we would be hurting friends and family by doing that, I don't trust you to not mess with me while I'm lying in a casket."

"Oh, I don't know. I think I could say a good speech," said Nick as he cleared his throat and pretended to look somber. "We are here to remember Officer Judy Hopps. Strong. Full of spunk. And one of the best motivational speakers of all time. In fact, let me tell you about Judy's first public speech to the press."

"Cheese and crackers," chuckled Judy, face palming. "You would never let me forget that moment. Even in death. If I ever do die for real, I am so not letting you get ten feet from my service."

"… you know I wouldn't know what to do if you were gone, right?" asked Nick, thinking about the idea. Judy Hopps, his partner and best friend, dead? No, that was not possible in Nick's mind. To even think that was wrong in every level.

"Nick, I'm an officer like you," said Judy as she turned over and placed her paw on his chest. "We all could die on the field. But I promise that I'll do everything I can to still be on this green Farth with you if you still do your best to stay with me. 'Cause as much as you can't live without me, I cannot live without you either."

Nick's cheeks slowly grew red as he and Judy stared into each other's eyes. A warm feeling began to spread inside of his chest as he found it harder to breath for some reason. He wanted to look away from those eyes, but at the same time he couldn't. "I know… Judy, I know…"

The two of them continued to stare for a while before Judy got up from the couch and stretched her arms. "That was a good rest, thanks Nick. I'm going to go to the pizza place across the street. Wanna to join?"

"Uh, no. I'm not that hungry. You go ahead," said Nick as Judy made her way out of the door. When she was gone, he hissed and held a paw to his temple. "Damnit, Nick. What was that about?"

He didn't give himself an answer. He just got up and went to his room to wait for the information on Lord Fluffypants.

 _ **AN: I actually wouldn't mind seeing somebody try an idea where Judy or Nick have to fake their death or deaths. Would be kinda funny.**_


	4. The Prisoner

_**AN: What I'm building up to as the finally starts here.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia**_

* * *

Codala came through as always with his information, but when Nick read about who this Lord Flufflypants really was he could honestly say he wasn't surprised why Judy's uncle was determined to let this marriage go through. Johnathan Flufflypants was the oldest and only child to the current head of the Fluffypants family, a noble family that had been around for over eight hundred years. They were famous for being one of the few rabbit houses left that actually were politically and militarily involved since the old days, especially during the Fox and Hare Wars in the 1500's. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all members of the Senate in the past and he looked to be following in their footsteps as a rising political leader in the nation's capital.

Obviously they were rich, but they had their own companies and investments around the world. Enough to make Judy set for life if she married this guy. Surprisingly, the Flufflypants weren't Anti-Predator or even Anti-Fox despite their history, but they were traditionalists in everything bunny culture related meaning convincing this guy to let the contract go wasn't going to happen. As for Johnathan himself, he was popular, charming, rich, and had a silver tongue that even Nick was impressed by. He also was a talented fencer, ranking in the top thirty worldwide.

He sounded like the perfect rabbit, but if there was anything Nick knew it was that the more perfect you were the bigger skeletons you had in your closet. Naturally, there was the usual political and rich dirt such as bribes, undercut deals, prostitution, nothing that serious to use against a powerful family that they couldn't cover with their crack team of lawyers. That is until he saw one note that Codala made a focus on.

"Hello," said Nick with a smirk, opening it and increasing the size for a better look. "What have we here?"

He was going to read further when a knock on his door alerted him to Judy's presence. Quickly hiding all the files and notes, he got up and unlocked the door where she waited for him. "Hey, Carrots. What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know I'll be gone by the time you wake up. Going to visit the Mayor's Lawyer again," said Judy.

"Aw, so no breakfast tomorrow?" said Nick as he faked a hurt look and put a paw over his heart.

"You can make toast, Nick," said Judy, rolling her eyes as she made her way down the hall to her room. "I'm going to bed early. Night."

Nick watched her leave until something made him call her out. "Hey, Judy." She paused and quickly turned to him. Nick bit his lip as he tried to think of something to say. "Look… I know this is going to be rough, but I'm here for you. You know that right, partner?"

A smile slowly stretched on Judy's muzzle as she slowly nodded. "I know, Nick."

Nick nodded back before he closed the door and pressed his back against it. He closed his eyes, for some reason thinking of Judy's smile made him feel warm inside. He pictured it as if it was his own mental painting, letting him view it for hours and hours at end without stop. He didn't know why but the thought of that smile never being seen again if she was forced to marry this Flufflypants guy made him lose that warmth. He growled as he clenched his paws into a fist.

He would not let her marry that bunny. He would not let her become unhappy.

He wouldn't.

* * *

If Nick needed to learn how he was going to break this marriage contract thing, he needed to talk to a bunny. He couldn't go to Judy's family because he didn't want her to know what he was doing, and he didn't want to risk somebody finding out and getting her in trouble. And asking any rabbit off the street was no good as this was a species thing and most species were very close guarded about their race's customs.

So he had to turn to a different kind of bunny. One that was already an outcast with this own kind and didn't give two cents about traditions. Before he met Judy, Nick rarely ever interacted with her kind. This was mostly due to the old prejudices both bunnies and foxes had for each other. Still, even Nick did business with bunnies when there was money to be made, and there was only one bunny he knew that could help. The problem was this bunny, Peter, hated Nick with a burning passion and Nick felt the same. The two of them used to work together in the Rainforest District selling fake rich looking perfumes to women at cheap prices. Peter was the one who made the stuff with his chemistry knowledge, Nick was the one who sold it with his silver tongue. It was a fair deal between them.

That was until Peter was asked to make catnip for a lion gang in Savanna Central, and help market it.

There was a list of illegal activity that Nick always refused to do in his former career as a criminal and drugs was one of them. He hated them, and had seen good animals lose their lives from it. Him and Peter argued about it and they split ways. Three months later Peter was arrested and sent to jail thanks to an undercover operation. He blamed Nick for not having his back when he went to see him in prison, but as far as the former conartist was concerned he screwed himself.

 _Now I gotta talk to him into helping me out,_ thought Nick as he sighed, flashing his badge at the guards as he made his way down the cells. Some of the criminals who he and Judy personally put away were yelling at him and giving the usual death threats, but Nick ignored them. By the time they got out of prison, him and Judy would already be long gone from this world via old age hopefully.

He finally stopped in front of a cell that had a buffalo that was even bigger then Chief Bogo with his entire head shaved and his horns tattooed. He was working out some pushups before he noticed Nick waving at him. With a smirk, he got up and walked over the officer fox before shaking his hand. "Officer Nick Wilde. Thanks for the birthday card two months ago, what do you need?" asked the buffalo, crossing his arms.

Nick smirked. "Oh, nothing much, Damian. Just need your help with another guy I know. Need him to answer some questions."

"Want me to rough him up?" asked Damian who cracked his knuckles.

"Nope, just stand in the distance and look like you're ready to break the whole place down," said Nick as he pulled six cartons of cigarettes out of his bag. That got the buffalo's attention as his eyes widen and his fingers twitched. "All this in return for your cooperation."

"Damn, I haven't had a smoke in a long time," said Damian, eyeing the prized cancer sticks like they were magic wands. "Okay, I'm in."

Nick nodded to the Lion guard nearby who opened the cell door, but cuffed him just in case. He had the two follow him down the cells again until he told Damian and the guard to wait across from the cell he was really after. Walking forward, he cleared his throat and muttered, "Hello, Peter."

Rising up from his bed, Peter Cottons was quite different then the last time Nick saw him. His fur was darker and he had a few scars on his face, no doubt from some fellow prisoners. He was missing a few of his teeth too when he growled upon seeing Nick, looking ready to kill him where he stood. "What do you want, Wilde?"

"Just need some information about your race's customs and you won't see me again," answered Nick, crossing his arms.

"Why the heck should I help you?" growled Peter, getting up and stomping over to Nick. He looked up at the fox and pointed to his face. "See this, Nick?! This is the crap I gotta live with every day while your off playing hero and it's all thanks to you! I gotta watch my back every second to the point where I can't even take a dump without a shiv in my paws. Whatever you gotta say, screw it and screw you!"

"Peter," Nick sighed as he rubbed his forehead, "I warned you about getting into drugs. It's your fault you didn't listen to me. Besides, even if I did agree to join with you what could I have done differently? We both would have been caught in here and been somebody's prison wife." He lowered himself to Peter's eye level. "Look, I need your help because you once lived in Bunnyborrow and I need to know about your kind's marriage customs with arranged contracts and all. Do this, and I'll put in a good word at your parole meeting next month; I know you've been denied it since you got in here." Nick then pointed to Damian in the back who looked bored. "And that buffalo over there? He owes me since me and Judy were able to find proof that he didn't kill his wife despite being a burglar for hire. If you help me out, I'll make sure he has your back for as long as you have to be here."

Peter bit his lip and looked at the buffalo who growled upon seeing he was being looked at. Looking away quickly, he muttered, "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"How do you break up a rabbit marriage contract?" asked Nick.

"Why? Got a rabbit girlfriend or something?" asked Peter who chuckled.

Nick blushed upon thinking of him and Judy 'together' but Peter saw this and laughed even harder. "Holy crap! You do?! Who have thought?! You sleeping around with a rabbit like your whore of a moth-UGK!" Peter felt his air suddenly cut off as Nick's paws were around his throat.

Growling, he forced Peter to look into his eyes. "Call my _mother_ or call _Judy_ a whore one more time and I will change my mind and have Damian over there turn you into a rabbit sandwich."

He let go as Peter gasped for hair and rubbed his throat. "F-fine… ugh…" After gaining his breath, he stood up. "The only way a contract can be canceled is if the head of the family cancels it completely, but that almost never happens. The one who accepted the contract can also change their mind, but again, rarely ever happens. The other one is that either party member passes away or is already married."

"Seriously, they can't be bought or intimidated or anything?!" shouted Nick in frustration. "What would happen if she just refuses the damn thing?"

"Well, that would be suicide," grunted Peter. "The poor girl's family would be dishonored, bunnies would refuse to do anything with them and they be pariahs. I've heard some families lose everything if this happens."

 _And Judy would never do that to her family, damn…_ thought Nick who growled. "Are you sure there is no way that it can change?!"

"Only one other way, but it's a very old law. I don't think anybody's used it for two hundred years," said Peter with a shrug. "In the old days, the lady could name a champion of her own to fight for her to cancel the contract. Should he win, the one who accepted the contract would be seen as weak and it would be cancelled. Of course, the champion has to have noble blood in him and most of the time it's duels to the death."

Nick froze upon hearing this. "Did you say… noble blood? As in _any_ noble blood or just rabbits?"

"It's actually just noble blood, a loop hole that has been used before. I recall a tiger once fighting in the name of their friend who didn't want them to accept the contract cause the one who did was rumored to be abusive or something."

"… noble blood, huh?" Nick thought out loud as he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Gods above, really?"

"What?" asked Peter.

"Nothing, just… thanks," whispered Nick as he walked away towards Damian and nodded his head.

"Make sure he's protected," said Nick, holding his end of the bargain before he walked away. He need to think his next move.

And he had to talk to Finnick.


	5. The Choice

_**AN: Only a few more chapters left. Don't know what my next Zootopia fic will be after this though.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.**_

* * *

Whenever Nick needed a place to get his thoughts together there was only one place in all of Zootopia where he could do that: The Watering Hole. It was a bar that was shady, dark, and nearly everyone who came in was a criminal or had been one. Even its owner, Miranda, was once a gangster's wife before she faked his will when he died from overdose and took all he owed to set this place up. The deer owner with lose red clothing placed Nick's third beer in front of him and frowned. "Normally, you don't go up to two on weekdays. What has you bummed, Nicky?"

"A lot, but I'm dealing with it," muttered Nick as he sipped his drink.

"Dealing with it usually means 'I don't know what I'm going to do'," replied Miranda, but she shook her head and went to go stop the third bar fight in two hours on the other end of the place.

Nick rolled his eyes. Truth was he had a way to deal with what was going on, but the problem was he was afraid too. Finnick always told him never take any risk if the reward is not big enough. The problem was Judy's happiness was the reward and no risk seemed to be too big or small for that.

The sound of small paws coming up behind him and struggling to reach the chair next to him alerted Nick that his old partner had arrived. Chuckling, he reached down and helped the tiny fox onto the chair that already had a booster seat prepared for him. "Still not drinking your milk, Finnick?"

"Still parading around in that blue uniform of yours?" asked Finnick, before waving to Miranda who was already pouring his favorite cocktail. "So what's the big problem? Need me to rat another guy out?"

"Finnick, those guys were slavers," stated Nick, giving him a glare. "You and I both know that scum like that isn't to be respected."

This always happened every time they met. While Finnick was glad that Nick finally got a clean life, he didn't like the fact that it was a cop. The poor fox had bad experiences with the police in his youth when his older brother was beaten to death by two cops… because he was a fox and they thought he was doing something illegal via misunderstanding. Since then, Finnick never trusted the police. He knew that they weren't all bad, but he still would never trust them. "You don't need to trust others to protect you if you can do it yourself," he always said.

"I know that," growled Finnick as he took his drink and gulped it all in one go. "But you do realize that it's bad enough that I'm known as that guy who had a friend who became a cop, right?! I'm losing my reputation!"

"Maybe then you should go clean like I did," encouraged Nick. He knew Finnick was stubborn, but was it so hard to see that there was a better life out there besides hustling others? He knew that he wasn't accepted in some areas he used to go to as a teenager and some of his old friends wanted nothing to do with him, but he had a better life now and he didn't regret his choice.

He wouldn't deny that him and Finnick weren't as close anymore. Judy had quickly taken that spot and if Finnick held any anger over that he didn't show it. Still, Finnick was an old friend and Nick would do everything to keep his friend safe and out of harm's way.

"Yeah, well when some dumb bunny from the country comes and takes me on a wild adventure then I'll consider it," growled Finnick, ordering another drink. "Speaking of which, how is Judy taking her engagement?"

"Bad," muttered Nick, thinking of those sad eyes that were afraid of her future. "She's being forced to marry this guy and she doesn't want to."

"Seriously? Are all them bunnies daft headed?" asked Finnick, raising his eyebrow. "Arranged marriages? I thought they only did that in the old days. Jeez, that sucks for her." He eyes him with a raised eyebrow. "I assume you got a plan to get her out of it?"

"Well," Nick pushed his glass away and sighed, "I actually found a way to break her out of it. The problem is that… it's dangerous."

"When has any plan you come up with not without some danger?" shrugged Finnick as he took another sip of his drink. "So what is it?"

"… I have to duel her future husband possibly to the death." Nick almost laughed as his friend spat out his drink with his eyes widened. "I wish I could have captured that on my phone."

Hacking out some of the drink, Finnick turned to Nick with disbelief. "Are you f-ing serious?! Have you lost your damn mind?! Dear gods above Nick, tell me you are joking!"

Nick sighed, "I'm not. I can fight Judy's fiancé in a duel in her name and if I win I can break the contract. Of course, only those of noble blood can do it and-"

"Well there is your problem!" shouted Finnick as he slammed his fist down, Miranda warning him to watch the wood. "Shut up, Miranda! Men are talking here! Anyway," he shook his head, "you are not noble born so there is no way you can even challenge this guy."

"I may not be noble born, but I do have noble _blood_ in my veins," said Nick, finishing his drink as Finnick raised an eyebrow. "Look, you can't tell anybody about this, okay? I never said anything because it never meant much to me as I got older. Plus, I never wanted other foxes to treat me different."

"What? Are you the missing Princess Anastasia?" teased Finnick with a smirk.

"No," said Nick, snickering as well before frowning, "but I am a descendent of Robin Hood of Loxley."

This time Nick did get his camera out and snapped a photo of a jaw dropped Finnick who looked like he was about to faint. That wasn't a surprise. To any other animal, they would have either not known who that was or remember only a brief passage of him in their history books. However, to any fox on this earth, Robin Hood was THE fox all of them looked up too. One of the few heroic foxes even told today, Robin Hood had lead a rebellion against the corrupted King John and helped give his older brother, King Richard, the throne back. His reward was to be knighted and his family given noble status upon marrying the equally famous Saint Maid Marian.

Both were paragons for foxes and kits grew up learning about them as soon as they could read. However, the Hood name declined many years later when King Henry the Eighth took the throne. The man had decided to create his own religion for England and those who refused to swear loyalty to him, and his new faith, were to be considered heretics. The Hoods, longtime supporters of the Catholic faith, rose up with others against the King. Unlike their founder of their house, they lost and most of them were killed. Those who survived were banished from England and went to new lands while the Hood's lands and titles were seized.

Nick learned he was of the same bloodline from his mother side, but didn't take much care into it. He had grown up with the stories, but by the time he was in his teens he stopped caring about it. He never told anybody about his ancestor because he doubted it would make any difference in a world where foxes were distrusted.

"Holy…" whispered Finnick as he gripped his heart. "You mean to tell me I've been working with a guy who shares the same blood as the Hood himself?"

"You going to start bowing to me like I'm a prince?" teased Nick.

"Nick, why the hell would you keep something like this a secret? If the fox community knew one of them was a Hood, you would be royalty!" hissed Finnick.

"Royalty?" snorted Nick. "I grew up poor with barley enough to eat as my mother sold her body to keep a roof under our heads. I'm no heroic Fox of Sherwood Forest, and I didn't want foxes kissing my ass all the time. No, I kept I a secret because I found no use for it. Until now."

Finnick bit his lip and shook his head. There was a silence between the two until Finnick asked, "You really going to go through with it? Fight this guy to the death?"

"I don't know," whispered Nick, swirling his drink in his paws and sighed. "The idea that Judy could be marrying this bastard… and her giving up everything just to be a dutiful wife? I owe her everything, Finnick. Everything good in my life now is because she saw me as Nick, not just some fox to be thrown away and treated like trash. I owe her my life."

"Does that mean you have to throw it away like this!" shouted Finnick, growling as he grabbed Nick by the collar. "Look at me, Nick. We may not be the tightest of friends, but I have always had your back and always did my best to lookout for you. I don't… I don't want to see the one ugly mug in Zootopia I don't mind looking at die, okay?!"

A small smile decorated Nick's face as he hugged Finnick who froze up like the popsicles they used to sell. "I like ya too, Finnick."

Pushing him away, Finnick grumbled, "Yeah, but ya love that bunny more."

Nick's eyes widened and his cheeks turned red as he looked away. "I… I don't…"

"Don't what?" asked Finnick, raising an eyebrow.

"N-nothing," said Nick as he put down some money. "Drinks are on me. I gotta get home."

Finnick watched him leave before shaking his head. "About time he finally started realizing it…"

* * *

When Nick opened the door, he knew that Judy had a bad day from the amount of papers that were scattered across the living room. "Carrots? Judy?" asked Nick as he walked inside and wondered where she was. He noticed a light coming on from her room and he slowly crept up and peaked inside from a small opening in the door.

Judy was on her laptop, her fur a mess and tears dripping down her eyes. "Please, Dad! You have to do something! Anything! Please convince him just to drop the damn contract!" She slammed her hands over the table that shook the computer she was using to talk to her saddened father. "I spent so many hours and we could find nothing! _Nothing!"_

"Judy, I know this is hard," whispered Stu Hopps as he lowered his head. "If I had the power I would just get rid of the contract in an instant, but I cannot. My brother refuses, the prick."

"Damnit, Dad!" shouted Judy. "Why me?! I never asked for this! All I wanted was to become a cop and I finally did that! I don't want to throw that away because of some rich snob who wants to claim me as his bed prize!"

Nick nearly growled as he clenched his paw. If Lord Fluffypants even tried that with Judy, he would tear his throat out. _I won't let him or anybody have her… she's… she's…_

A word beginning with the letter "m" nearly echoed in his mind but he closed his eyes and pushed it away to focus on listening. _  
_

"… Judy, he wants you _because_ you are a cop," confessed Stu which made Judy raise her head. "Do you know how much of a hero you are to the bunny community now? You're famous and if one of the most powerful bunny families could get a star like you? It would be a huge benefit for them…"

"I know," whimpered Judy as she hugged her knees closer to her chest. "… I'm going to really marry him aren't I?"

"I'm afraid so…"

She took a deep breath and wiped her tears. "Okay… okay… just… just let me get over this."

"Judy…"

"Goodnight."

She shut the call and… let it all out. Everything she held from within finally collapsed as she buried her head into her arms and cried. Judy almost never cried, she saw it as a weakness. The only time Nick had ever seen her cry was when she thought he had been shot. He swore to never let her cry again. Yet, here he was watching his best friend… his partner… his heart crumble into ruin over a fate she was forced to accept. Her entire life, everything she had worked hard for was now going to taken away from her without a fight.

There was nothing she or her family could do.

Yet there was something Nick could do.

His mind made up, Nick walked back to his room and prepared to send a letter.


	6. The Answer

_**AN: Romance is starting to kick up. After this chapter is the climax. Also got my next Zootopia idea planned out.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia**_

* * *

It had been three days since he sent the letter that held both his and Judy's fates. He had wondered if Lord Jonathan Fluffypants would even bother to answer. Would he see Nick as unworthy to fight against and just ignore the message? Would a reply be sent to Judy? If so, then she was going to make him eat his own tail. With each day that passed without a reply, Nick grew more nervous, but also more worried about Judy. Ever since she had her talk with her father, the rabbit had done her best to fake happiness and let Nick know that things were going alright. She kept saying that she had a possible plan in the works, but Nick could see it in her eyes that she was lying.

He pretended to be convinced, just to make her not worry for him, and did what he could to make her feel better. He took her out to her favorite places to eat, let her pick the movies, and even managed to go to a Gazelle concert last night which really made her smile. It was almost like going on dates… or maybe it was and Nick just didn't want to admit it.

His worries soon ended when a letter arrived for him just as he was about to leave for work while Judy continued to stay at home with her many vacation days. It had a royal looking seal on it and he quickly opened it up, reading it while making sure Judy was focusing on the news and not him.

 _Dear Mr. Wilde,_

 _My name is Jonathan Fluffypants, heir to the Fluffypants name and the future husband of Judy Hopps. I have received your letter of challenge and was shocked to hear that you are of the Hood bloodline. While my father believes I can ignore this duel request since you are not of noble status yourself, our tradition states that any animal with noble blood can act as the champion regardless of their standing in society._

 _Therefore, I shall accept your duel and meet you on April 28_ _th_ _at the Zootopia train station known as Grand Central. There we shall duel for the paw of Ms. Hopps. I look forward to meeting you._

 _-Jonathan Wilde._

That was it. The duel was set and the date was tomorrow. Nick sighed and looked over at his bunny friend who was preoccupied. _Judy…_

He couldn't let her know. She would be furious with him or worse try to put the whole thing off. He couldn't let her do that. Nick had to do this for her… and maybe for them.

"Judy, I'm off to work," said Nick.

"Okay, tell the others I said hi," said Judy with a wave as he went out the door.

Nick nodded and gave a smirk before he exited the house. He had a few people to talk to before the duel tomorrow.

* * *

"Oh my goodness!" shouted Clawhauser as he stared at the gift Nick gave him. "A two-hundred-dollar gift card to Dog n' Donuts?! Nick, if it wasn't for the fact that I know you aren't gay, I'd kiss you."

"Well, good thing I'm not into males," said Nick, chuckling before he made his way towards the chief's office. "Don't spend it all in one go, okay?"

"Why the reason for the gift, Nick? It's not my birthday or anything?" asked Clawhauser, raising his eyebrow.

"I'm just feeling kind today is all," said Nick, waving his paw lazily. Truth was it was a final gift just in case Nick didn't make it tomorrow. While the duel could be fought to the point where mercy was given, based on what research he did in his spare time, most of the time it was to the death. If today was going to be his last day on Earth, he wanted to do one last special thing for all the friends in his life.

Knocking on the chief's door, he heard a "come in" before entering with his usual sly smirk. "Chief! You're looking as horny as ever."

"That better be related to the horns on my head, Wilde," growled Chief Bogo as he looked up from his paperwork. "What are you doing here, Wilde. You're supposed to be doing Jumbo's job."

"I'll get to it, sir," said Nick as he lazily sat down and put his feet up on the desk, which made Chief Bogo narrow his eyes even more. "I just want to say something to you."

"Go on…" growled the chief, teeth showing.

"You are the most stuck up, stubborn, mean, and grumpy buffalo that I've ever met with a stick so far up his butt that I'm surprised it hasn't come through the other side yet," said Nick, plainly. Bogo slowly turned red and was about to open his mouth for a loud yelling session when Nick proclaimed, "But I respect the hell out of you, sir."

Bogo's eyes widened. Nick smirked when he saw this and continued, "You gave me a chance to be a police officer here. You treated me no different from any other officer, even when you knew about my criminal past. Sure, we get on each others nerves, but you care about me as one of your own and I've never stopped respecting you because of that." Nick got up and, for the first time since becoming a cop, gave a serious salute to his chief. "It's been an honor working for you, sir. That's all I wanted to say."

For what seemed like minutes, Chief Bogo stared at Nick who continued to keep up his salute. Standing up, Chief Bogo looked down at Nick and took off his reading glass. "Nick Wilde, you are the most childish, annoying, sarcastic, and sly fox that I have ever had to deal with." With a sigh, Chief Bogo saluted back. "But you're a damn good cop."

Nick nodded and ended his salute before he made his way towards the door. He stopped and said, "Chief… if anything happens to me… take care of Judy, please?"

"… Are you in some kind of trouble, Wilde?" asked Chief Bogo, looking serious. Nick knew that if he wanted the Chief could get every cop in the city to help out with whatever the problem was. He remembers when an officer, Officer Nighteyes, was killed in the line of duty. The Chief had them all hunt down the killer and bring him to justice.

"Nothing I can't handle," said Nick cryptically before leaving the room.

* * *

"So you're really going to do it?" asked Fennick as the two of them stared at the big waterfall in the Rainforest District. It was a big tourist attraction and the two of them often came here to relax while seeing who would be an easy outsider to scam. Of course, Nick wasn't here to help Fennick with another job, rather just enjoy a simple afternoon break with his old friend. The two sucked on popsicles, bringing a lot of old memories as they sat on the bench.

"Yeah," said Nick, who stared at his popsicle. It was selling these that lead him to meeting Judy. He sometimes wondered what would have happened if he wasn't doing that gig when Judy was an officer. Would she have still saved all those animals from Bellwether? Would she lose her job like she came close to? Would Nick still be hustling and scamming just to eat? Nick didn't believe in fate, he like to make his own rules, but maybe there was something to him and Judy meeting.

And if there wasn't, it had to be the luckiest draw the fox ever got.

"I'd try to get ya to change your mind, but I can tell it's a losing battle," said Fennick as he tossed his stick away. Glancing at Nick, his lips trembled a bit. "Nick, don't die. I'm serious. I lost a family already, I don't want to lose you."

"Hey, you know me, Fennick," said Nick, smiling at his friend. "I never go through with something half-baked."

"HA! I can name five plans of yours that ended up getting screwed over," laughed Fennick. All of a sudden, he found a piece of paper in front of his face. "What the? Is this an application notice?"

"Yup, for a job at a restaurant for a hosting position," answered Nick, finishing the last of his popsicle and tossing it. "The owner owed me a favor after me and Judy helped him find who was stealing his safe money. Turns out it was his own kids."

"What's this for though?" asked Fennick, taking it and looking it over.

"The pay is good and there are benefits," answered Nick as he got up from the bench and put his paws into his pants. "A decent weekly pay and health care without worrying about cuffs behind your back is a better lifestyle then living in some banged up van. Wouldn't you say?"

With that said, Nick walked away while whistling a tune. Fennick would stare at the application for some time before huffing. "Idiot, he could have at least left me a pen."

* * *

" _In Loving Memory of Lyda Wilde_

 _Born 1960 – Died 1997_

 _Rest In Peace"_

Nick continued to stare at the stone grave where his mother was laid to rest and wondered if he would be joining her soon. He knew thinking such a thing was terrible, but Nick has always been a realist. He could die. The rules say it could be to the death, and Nick was wondering if he was crazy to accept this. He wasn't the most religious, but he liked to believe the dead looked after their own in whatever afterlife existed in this crazy universe and he needed all the looking after right now.

"Hey, Mom," said Nick as he planted flowers on her grave and smiled. "I bet you already know what I'm planning to do tomorrow, right?" He stayed silent, as if letting her answer in front of him. "Well, if I do end up joining you up there you can give me the biggest lashing ever, but I have to do this." He squeezed his paws and closed his eyes, thinking of the rabbit that had changed his life. "I've told you time and again how much Judy means to me… I just never though it would mean more then friendship."

He wondered what would happen if he told Judy his feelings. He could handle the rejection if she didn't feel the same way, but he would never handle the end of their friendship. And even if they did get together, what would other say? Cross species relationship was growing more common to the point where most but a few accepted it, but foxes and rabbits still had old hatreds against each other. More so then any other species. Would their own communities reject them, see them as traitors? Nick couldn't give a damn about it, but Judy would be worried about her family's reaction. They were the most important ones in her life, and she would do anything to protect them.

 _Not that it matters, I have to survive against this duel first,_ thought Nick before turning his attention back to the gravestone. "I'll come back soon. One way or another. Just be there for me when this duel comes, Mom."

A small blowing of wind made Nick relax as he got up and made for the exit of the graveyard.

* * *

Judy was passed out when Nick arrived at their condo, bottles of beer scattered around the floor. He was wondering how long it would take until she got the alcohol out and went on a booze fest to deal with her problems. _She's going to feel that in the morning,_ thought Nick as he gently picked her up and carried her to her bed. He eyed her peaceful sleeping face and a small smile stretched over his muzzle. She always did look cute when she slept.

Entering her room, he softly put her in bed and placed her covers over her small body. He was about to leave when Judy muttered, "Nick… please don't… leave me…"

He paused and slowly turned around, eyes wide. He took a deep breath before leaning over her body to the point where he could smell her scent. "Don't worry, Judy. I'll always be here."

He placed his lips on her cheek for a brief second and then closed the door behind him on his way out.


	7. The Duel

_**AN: At long last we have come to the duel. This scene was inspired by a scene in a game, in fact the idea came to me while I was playing it. If you manage to figure out what it is that I am referencing please says so for kudos!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.**_

* * *

Today was the day.

The day of the duel.

Nick looked at himself in the mirror and realized there was no turning back. Sure, he could not show up and just lose by default, but if he did that then Judy would be marrying this Lord Flufflypants. She would lose everything she ever cared and worked hard for.

He would lose her.

That was something that he couldn't allow to happen. He had to win this or die trying if need be. He woke up way earlier then he wanted to, but he figured it was best to leave now before Judy woke up. If she saw how nervous he was then she would be asking questions. Questions that Nick didn't want to answer.

 _Okay, Nick. You can do this. You can go to the train station and beat that snobbish noble even though he is ranked in the top thirty best duelists of our nation. You can do this._ Nick repeated this in his head as he made his way towards the door and took one last look at the condo he and Judy had shared. Despite having it for only a year and a half, it had felt like home. A place where he was safe and happy from the cruel world that was reality. He had so many memories with Judy here. The dinners they shared. Movies they watched. Even the occasional party they threw for one celebration or another.

With one last quick prayer to whatever god was listening, he left hoping that this wasn't the last time he would see it.

* * *

Although the letter said it would take place outside of the station, Nick didn't know where he was supposed to meet Jonathan Fluffypants. He stood near the entrance, looking at his phone as time went by while make sure to see if any bunnies were around. He spotted a few but they were mostly in groups of four or more and looked no different than the average mammal you would find in the street. It made Nick wonder if his opponent was going to show up at all. There wasn't much else going on. Just some kids playing nearby, various citizens of Zootopia going back and forth, and a news crew with a giraffe lady talking to her bear camera man.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Nick spotted what had to be Lord Fluffypants. He was dressed in blue silk pants with a red coat to wear with gold buttons and stitching's. A silver crest, showing a sword going through a carrot, was on the right side while he wore pure white gloves. He was a foot or so taller than Judy was, but still below Nick's height, and had clean smooth fur and deep blue eyes. Behind him were two aging rabbit butlers holding two cases; the one on the left bigger than the one on the right.

The noble looking rabbit stopped a few feet from Nick who put his phone away. Smirking, Lord Fluffypants placed a paw over his chest and bowed slightly. "I am Jonathan Fluffypants, sixth of my name, son of Alexander and Marsha Fluffypants. Heir to the Fluffypants family and future husband of Lady Judy Hopps. I take it you are Sir Wilde?"

"Yeah, that's me," said Nick, doing his best not to show any emotion.

Fluffypants raised his head and nodded in approval. "Some of my relatives thought you would not show up. I am glad to see that you are not a coward despite your foxy nature. No offense of course."

 _I should take offense, but I guess I can pay back by beating you,_ thought Nick. "Let's just get this over with."

"Of course," said Fluffypants as he snapped his paws and both butlers came over. Opening the cases, Nick saw that they were rapiers. One longer than the other. Taking the long one, Lord Fluffypants looked at Nick with a smile. "I hope you are as good at a sword as your ancestor was." He then tossed the sword to Nick who caught it with one paw. Grabbing the shorter one, Flufflypants shooed the servants away as he gave his sword a few swings. "I happen to be one of the best fencers in the nation. But I figured you already learned much from my dear future wife."

"She won't be your future wife if I have anything to say about it," growled Nick.

"I see you are motivated. Good, I hate boring duels. Let us begin," said Fluffypants as he gave a salute.

Nick's eyes widened as he looked around, already the other mammals were noticing the two with swords and were asking about it. A crowd was forming in a large circle, trapping the two in a big enough "arena" for them to have their match. Phones, tablets, and video cameras were already whipped out and even that news crew nearby was filming, the giraffe saying something that he couldn't make out.

"W-wait, we're going to do this here? In front of all these mammals?" asked Nick.

"Why not? I love a good crowd. Now, enguard!" said Lord Fluffypants. Before Nick could react the rabbit was rushing towards him faster than Nick expected and barley had enough time to block the first blow. He quickly parried the second and tried to strike, but was blocked. The two exchanged blows, neither hitting each other as they began to move around their dueling space. The crowd "oohing" or "aahing" as they watched.

"Not a bad start, Sir Wilde," complimented Lord Fluffypants. "But this is just the warm up." He then made a quick stab which Nick dodged by jumping right, however in a split second that stab turned into a cut that was heading straight for his side. Nick barely managed avoid it but felt the blade slice up a bit of his shirt. He backed up, his face losing a bit of color as he looked at the tear and gulped.

"Good dodge, let's see if you are lucky a second time," said the rabbit as he dashed forward again.

* * *

When Clawhauser looked up on the news they had in one of the TV's for entrance, he dropped his doughnut in shock. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming what he saw. It was Nick, fighting some rich looking rabbit with swords like one of those classic swashbuckling movies.

"Oh. My. Goodness!" shouted Clawhauser as officers looked up and saw the news themselves. They all began to huddle together as they watched one of their fellow officers in a duel, asking each other what was going on and why was Nick fighting for his life.

"What's going on here? Why are you all crowded around?" asked Chief Bogo as he pushed his fellow officers away. When he looked up and saw Nick strike a blow towards Lord Fluffypants, only for the rabbit to parry it without a flinch, he froze for a second before smacking his face with his hand. "Damnit, Wilde."

* * *

Finnick had just barley kept his drink in his mouth when he saw the news report: "Officer Wilde duels at Grand Central". He didn't bother listening to what the giraffe was saying and instead focused on Nick as he and Flufflypants locked blades.

"Come on, Nick! Show this pansy rabbit what you are!" shouted Finnick as the entire bar focused on the fight.

* * *

While all of Zootopia was watching the fight, with every news media, TV, and even the big screen in Thymes Square were focused on the fight, Judy Hopps was going for a walk trying to think about what to do with her problem. She knew that she still had time to end the marriage before it happened but how to do it legally and without shaming her family was the big question.

"Wow! Look at that rabbit go! I don't think I've seen one so fast with a blade!" said a teenage elephant as he and his friends were looking just outside of a Used TV shop.

"Who do you think's going to win? My money is on the fox," said an otter which caught Judy's attention.

"No way! Have you seen that noble looking dude? He's like owning him!" cried out a sheep.

Suddenly a dark worrying feeling entered Judy's head as she rushed over and pushed the kids aside much to her annoyance. When she saw the camera zoom in on a sweating Nick, her eyes widened.

* * *

Nick was surprised he had lasted this long, but at the same time he was getting tired. His arm was killing him and his shirt was torn up from a few close calls. Codala's information was spot on. He really was _that good_ with a blade.

"You are handling yourself pretty well, Sir Wilde," said Lord Fluffypants. "Hopefully, I will not injure you too much so that you cannot attend our wedding. Provided you do not die of course."

"I'll never let you marry, Judy," growled Nick as he charged forward and tried to swipe at his foe, but kept missing. "She's not your property to use as you see fit!"

"And do you really think a son of a whore is going to stop me?!" shouted Lord Fluffypants which made Nick gasp as Fluffypants locked swords with him. "Oh, yes. I looked you up. Father leaves the family. Mother sells herself and dies later on from what she got at work. Not mention you dropping out of school and starting a criminal career. Of course, I do applaud for all the work you have done as a cop, but what makes you think a nobody like you can defeat me?"

"I…I…" Before Nick could answer, Fluffypants broke his guard and sliced at Nick who tried to dodge but the sword made contact with his left arm. Yelping he felt the blade tear his skin as a cut began to draw blood, forcing him to hold on to it with his sword arm while backing away. The crowd and viewers gasped at the sight.

Nick gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his arm and the blood dripping down on the pavement as Lord Fluffypants grinned "First blood goes to me."

He raised his sword at Nick who slowly backed away. "Perhaps if you surrender now I shall spare your life. I don't want to make my new wife have to go to a funeral before our wedding." Nick growled and stood strong, raising his sword which only made Lord Fluffypants. "Very good. Courage in the face of death. Strange to see in a fox."

"I'm more than just a fox, I know Judy better than anyone else. And I know she would be miserable with you," said Nick.

"I happen to think I can give Judy a proper life. A rich house, clothing, all the money she needs, and a chance to have children. What more could she want?" asked Lord Fluffypants.

At this Nick laughed, which made Lord Fluffypants raise an eyebrow. "You really don't know her at all, do you?" Nick smirked before closing her eyes. "Do you know what makes Judy different from all the bunnies in the world? It's not that she's a cop or has an acceptance of foxes." He opened them and smiled. "It's her spirit. She wants nothing more than to be free and do what she wants to do, regardless of what society says. She'll fight twice as hard to get what she wants and deal with those who tell her no. She's not somebody who can be won over with money or riches or fame. She doesn't even give a damn about that. What she cares about is her freedom to follow her own path in life. She taught that to me and saved me from myself." He raised his sword and grinned. "Stopping you from taking that freedom she treasures is the least I can do to her."

Lord Fluffypants narrowed his eyes. "Well, you have to beat me first, Sir Wilde. But rest assured, I can be a good husband and lover to Lady Hopps."

It was then that Nick remembered that one note of information he read that stood out from the information Codala gave him. A secret so deep that Nick began to grin as he played this in his head. "Oh, I seriously doubt that. After all, look at what happened to Carmen Del' Caro."

The shocked and horrified look on Lord Fluffpants made Nick nearly laugh as the rabbit almost lost grip of his sword. "H-How do you know about her?!"

"You looked me up, so I looked you up," said Nick as he slowly made his way forward, Fluffypant's face slowly turning red. "Tell me, how much did you pay her to have that litter aborted? After all, I doubt it would look for your image if your parents found out you had bastards, right?" Nick then turned to the camera that was focusing on their fight and nodded. "Or maybe they do already?"

Turning even redder, Lord Fluffypants glared at the camera and then at Nick before shouting, "Shut up!" He charged forward, but this is what Nick was hoping for. Just as Lord Fluffypants was going to come down with a downward slash, Nick swiftly shifted left and extended his leg, letting the rabbit trip. He tried to recover and that's when Nick went down with a slash that made its mark against the rabbit's right shoulder, cutting it deep and causing blood to file out.

Again the crowd and viewers gasped as Fluffypants rolled away and stumbled back onto his feet while Nick raised his now red tipped rapier and smirked. "Second blood to me. And that's for calling my mother a whore."

Fluffypants narrowed his eyes and growled. "I was just playing with you earlier, but you have now insulted me. I shall show you what I am-"

" _ **STOP!"**_


	8. The Heart

_**AN: And so we come to the end. Thank you all for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it. Expect more Zootopia fics from me, but mostly one shots for awhile before I do something like this again.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia**_

* * *

" _ **STOP!"**_

Both Nick and Fluffypants turned around towards a section of the crowd where everyone watched as an exhausted and panting rabbit pushed her way out and placed her paws on her knees as she stopped to catch her breath. Nick felt his heart sink and worry creep over him as Judy looked at him with a glare that spoke of only one thing: fury.

She slowly straightened herself and stomped her way towards Nick who was debating which was worse, getting stabbed or an angry Judy. Lord Fluffypants, realizing who this is, bowed and spoke, "Lady Hopps, it is a pleasure to me-"

"Out of my way," said Judy as he pushed him aside as if he was just yesterday's trash.

She was just a foot away from Nick when he said, "Carrots, I know your angry but I can expl-"

 _ **SLAP!**_

The entire crowd, and most of those watching on the news, winced and went "oooooh" upon seeing Judy slap Nick's face as hard as she could. Nick barley kept himself standing as he rubbed his left cheek. "Okay, I deserved that."

"You deserved so much more, Nickolas P. Wilde!" shouted Judy at the top of her lungs. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

"I'm… trying to prevent you from getting married?" said Nick, sheepishly while raising his paws.

"By getting yourself killed?! Are you this really this stupid?! This has to be the most reckless, idiotic and insane thing you ever did!" shouted Judy, poking him in the chest with each insult.

"Even that time we pretended to be pizza delivery guys for that crack house?" asked Nick.

"Yes!" shouted Judy, rubbing her temples. "I cannot even begin to tell you how stupid that was."

"Well, it would have worked if you kept your police radio off. We barely got away with our lives that time," pointed out Nick, huffing. "Besides, you're the one who came up with that brilliant plan of faking a pregnancy to expose a baby selling ring."

"Hey, that watermelon under the shirt thing could have worked if your tail hadn't tripped me and made me fall!" shouted Judy, blushing.

Nick smirked. "It was kinda funny to see everyone freak out when that watermelon broke."

"Yeah, it was," giggled Judy before she turned serious. "Wait, what am I talking about?! Back to this whole stupid duel thing! How did you even get this to happen?! You're not of noble blood!"

"Um," Nick rubbed the back of his head. "I… kinda am…"

"… what?" said Judy, deadpan.

"See, I might have neglected to tell you and most people I know that I'm a descendent of Robin Hood… and now that I said that on the news," Nick nodded over to the camera crew while the reporter was looking like she hit a gold mine in her career with this whole duel, "I'm going to get worshiped as the next messiah by foxes."

Judy rubbed her head. "Okay, fine. Your noble and all that, but that doesn't excuse you for coming out here and risking your life for me!"

"I risk my life with you all the time on the job!" countered Nick.

"Yes, but this is not a case! This is you fighting against one of the best swordfighters in the nation who could have killed you first chance he got!" shouted Judy as she threw her hands up in the air and backed off a bit.

"Um, excuse me," said Lord Fluffypants raising a finger. "We were in a the middle of a-"

"Shut up!" shouted both Judy and Nick before glaring at each other. Fluffypants gave a small "ok" before backing away.

"Judy, I had to do this! I couldn't let him marry you!" shouted Nick, growling.

"And what if you failed?! What if you _died?!"_ screamed Judy, as a few tears tripped from her eyes that made Nick frown. "How do you think I would have to live with that?! Knowing my best friend died because I couldn't find a damn way out of this stupid marriage! You shouldn't have done this!"

"But I had to!" shouted Nick.

" _Why?!"_

" _ **Because I love you, Judy!"**_ Screamed Nick as loud as he could.

A few gasps were heard as eyes widened and everyone looked at Nick who blushed upon realizing what he had shouted out in anger. Over live TV no doubt. Judy's eyes widened as she placed her paws over her mouth. For a long time, Nick stared into those beautiful eyes to see if there was any disgust or horror or anger… but instead he saw only shock and… joy?

"Y-you do?" asked Judy as she lowered her paws and a small smile appeared on her muzzle.

"He does?" asked Lord Fluffypants looking at the both of them.

Nick looked around at the entire crowd waiting on the edge of their seats. It wasn't just them, everyone in Zootopia, and a certain bunny family outside of it, were all waiting for what would happen next. Chuckling, Nick threw away his sword and looked at Judy with the most honest smile he could give. "I love you, Judy Hopps. And I'd rather die than see anybody else have you."

"Oh, Nick," whispered Judy, crying tears of joy as she rushed towards him. "I love you too!"

Before Nick could respond, Judy jumped and hugged him as tightly as she could. Nick, upon realizing what Judy said, also hugged back and felt his heart beating faster. The two best friends looked at each other, eye to eye, and then pressed their lips together for a first kiss. The crowd exploded with cheers as did the entire city as every citizen who watched cheered and hollered of the sight of their two biggest heroes coming together.

* * *

"I knew it!" shouted Clawhauser, jumping up and down with his big gut bouncing like a ball. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! This is so cute!"

Other officers were clapping their hands while a few who were couples together held them and kissed, caught up in the romantic moment. A few were handing out wads of cash to others who smiled upon winning a huge bet that had been around since Hopps and Wilde became partners.

Chief Bogo rubbed his head with a headache that was coming on, but he was smirking too. _Always did think they would make a cute couple._ He then turned to Sergeant McHorn and whispered in his ear.

* * *

"Damn, lucky bastard," said Finnick as he finished his bear and watched the two kiss. "A rabbit and a fox. Times they are a changing." He then paused and pulled out the application form all signed and dated with his information. Taking a deep sigh, he got off his bar seat and made his way for the door.

He needed to find a good set of clothes for his interview.

* * *

Watching the news from her penthouse in Sahara Square, Gazelle saw the kiss and was instantly hit with inspiration for a new song. She pulled out a pen and notepad and began to write as the lyrics wrote themselves.

"Hmm, I should ask Nick and Judy if they want to be in the music video," said the singing sensation as she wrote the title of the song "Wild Hearts" on top.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain carrot farmiling family of two hundred something relatives were watching the news on their big screen TV and were cheering that Judy finally had a boyfriend. The little ones were all excited about meeting "Uncle Nick" again while the older ones were just happy Judy was in love, all while helping their mother deal with their fainted father.

* * *

The kiss had finally ended, but what seemed like a few seconds felt like hours. Nick gazed into Judy's eyes and smiled, feeling complete for some reason. Like he had found his second half. "How long?"

"After you graduated," whispered Judy, with a light blush.

"Wow, I didn't even realize until recently," said Nick, lightly touching her cheek. "You sure you want to do this? What about that contract?"

"To hell with it. This isn't the Middle Ages," said Judy, with a giggle. "And if that doesn't work, we'll go with your fake death idea."

"Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox."

"Ahem?"

The two of them quickly looked to their left where a frowning Lord Fluffypants, sword in hand, was glaring at them. Nick gulped as Judy got in front of Nick, fists ready for any trouble. However, to their surprise the young lord smiled and bowed. "Well played, Sir Wilde, you stuck the heart."

The couple looked at each other in confusion as Lord Fluffypants laughed. "I am not so cruel as to split up two mammals who are truly in love. I can see you two love each other very much, and I will not let such a beautiful thing go to waste. There for, I concede the duel to you, Sir Wilde."

"Wow, you mean I win?" asked Nick.

"Yes, such a shame that I will not have Lady Judy as a wife, but I'm sure that I will find a suitable partner," said Lord Fluffypants as his butler took his sword away. Gazing towards Judy, he said, "Lady Hopps? I'm afraid I must return the marriage contract to you and your family. I suggest that your Uncle gets rid of it just in case some other family wishes to take it. Though, seeing this wonderful performance, I doubt that they will risk the wrath of an entire city to do so."

"Thank you, Lord Fluffypanys," said Judy with a smile.

"It is no problem. Now, seeing as I am in Zootopia I might as well see the sights. Farewell," said Lord Fluffypants as he and his butler's left.

Of course that wasn't the end as soon as he did leave, the entire crowd soon overcame the two frightened mammals as pictures were taken and news crews, who had just arrived, struggled to get through.

"Officer Wilde and Hopps! Do you have anything to say?!"

"It's his romance a protest for better mixed racial marriages laws?!"

"How long have you held feelings for each other?!"

"Will this cause any problems with the Fluffypants clan?!"

"Will you be marrying in the future?!"

Nick and Judy held each other as the crowd slowly began to swallow them whole, but the sound of familiar sirens alerted them that backup had arrived. Police officers were pushing the crowd back as an ambulance arrived with two EMT's helping Nick up much to his confusion along with Judy as well. Sergeant McHorn, on the scene with a megaphone, began shouting into it. _"Okay, move along people! Move along! Injured officer needing care! Take a hike!"_

Judy turned to McHorn who gave her a wink and she smiled back before rushing towards Nick as he was being put into the ambulance.

* * *

"I can't believe you ate all the ice cream in that tub," said Judy as she opened the door to their condo. Nick's shoulder was wrapped and patched up while he continued to finish the last of the strawberry ice cream he was given.

"What can I say, nurses love me," said Nick as he ate the last and skillfully tossed it into the trashcan.

Judy smirked and grabbed Nick by his tie as she forced him to lean in closer with a leer in her eyes. "And what about bunny police officers?"

"Well, they love me too," said Nick with a grin before he and Judy kissed. Their kissing slowly became more passionate as Nick took Judy into his arms and made his way towards his bedroom, bumping into a few things before he kicked the door open.

He slammed Judy on the bed and began to undress her while she did the same for him. Before he could remove his shirt, she said, "Wait!"

"What?"

Judy took out her cellphone and called a number. Nick waited until Judy finally connected. "Hey, Chief? Me and Nick are gonna take a week off… yes I know again… but he's wounded and the rules say that he is liable for a week off… and I have how many vacation days again? Great, see you next Monday."

She pressed a button on her phone and tossed it to the side. "Now you can make love to me."

Nick chuckled as he leaned forward and nuzzeled her. "My little Sly Bunny."

"My handsome Dumb Fox."

The two kissed before they got under the covers.

It was one hell of a week.


End file.
